The Attack

Faced with the sudden ambush, Naruto remained remarkably calm.

He did not panic. Instead, he stood in an almost languid posture, both hands still casually tucked into his pockets, a detached smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

In Sasuke's eyes, however, Naruto's behavior seemed extremely strange. He stood frozen in place, not moving at all in the face of the attack, merely grinning foolishly. That guy must have been scared witless, Sasuke thought.

At that critical moment, Sasuke suddenly leaped into the air. The shuriken in his hand shot out like lightning, accurately interrupting the two ninjas' attack.

He spread his body and landed steadily on the two ninjas' shoulders, then kicked them away with both feet.

The two ninjas were horrified. They had never imagined that Sasuke could use shuriken to pin their chains to a tree, not only neutralizing their attack but also sending them flying.

At such a young age, he already possessed such strength. He was truly a gifted genius.

By contrast, that blond kid was so frightened that he stood frozen in place, unable to move. The difference in ability was immediately clear.

The two ninjas kicked away by Sasuke stumbled several times in midair before quickly regaining their balance.

Their eyes were sharp, and they threw away the chains they had been gripping without hesitation.

Immediately afterward, the two ninjas took action separately. One was nimble as a cheetah as he suddenly pounced on Naruto; the other flashed toward Tazuna, moving so quickly it was astonishing.

As assassination ninjas, they possessed a high level of professionalism. First, they would eliminate the weakest combatant and the mission target, Tazuna, then deal with the black-haired boy at their leisure. This was their best strategy.

However, at this critical moment, Sasuke flew forward and blocked the path between Sakura and Tazuna. The ninja rushing toward Tazuna frowned, but did not slow his charge.

The ninja rushing toward Naruto, meanwhile, looked somewhat annoyed. The blond-haired brat in front of him still had not moved an inch. Was he scared witless—or was he blind?

"If you're not going to defend yourself, then die, you brat!" the ninja cursed viciously. The claws in his hand were already poised to strike.

The two ninjas reached Sasuke and Naruto at the same time. In the next instant, they were about to punch through the two boys' chests.

Just then, two thuds rang out.

Kakashi's figure appeared in the battlefield like a phantom. With a flash, he was already in front of the two ninjas.

He used no ninjutsu. Relying solely on his exquisite Taijutsu, he turned his hands into two afterimages and struck both enemies' vital points with pinpoint accuracy.

The two figures collapsed with a pair of impacts. Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Naruto looked at Kakashi before him and felt somewhat moved. He realized that Kakashi resembled himself in his previous life: always appearing only at the crucial moment, allowing his students to awaken their potential through actual combat instead of protecting them blindly.

Sakura, who had been hiding behind them, finally smiled and cheered, "Kakashi-sensei, you're still alive!"

Sasuke, refusing to admit what he really thought, muttered, "Why are you stealing the spotlight...?"

Naruto also spoke in the tone preserved in his memories. "Kakashi-sensei, you're actually still alive!"

Kakashi gave Naruto a meaningful look. He was secretly puzzled. He had clearly seen the ninja's claws strike Naruto just now, so why was Naruto completely unharmed?

It seems I saw wrong. Naruto wasn't hit. After thinking it over, Kakashi said, "Naruto, sorry I couldn't come rescue you right away and let you nearly get hurt. But I didn't expect you to stand there without moving at all."

In everyone else's eyes, Naruto really had looked as though he had been scared witless, standing completely motionless. Kakashi could not help feeling somewhat disappointed in him. Tazuna, however, breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had been saved.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto. Naruto really is a dead last. All he does all day is make a racket. When it comes to a real fight, he's even worse than Sakura. Thinking this, Sasuke then said contemptuously, "You're not hurt, are you? Coward."

Faced with Sasuke's mockery, Naruto mostly felt helpless.

This little guy really resembled his disciple Fushiguro Megumi from his previous life—brilliantly talented, yet refusing to say what he truly meant.

In his previous life, he had failed to save his disciple. When he saw someone so similar, the soul of Gojo Satoru within Naruto became somewhat dazed.

He ignored Sasuke's taunt and smiled as he waved his hand. "I'm not hurt."

In fact, under normal circumstances, the ninja's claws had already struck Naruto. However, protected by the Infinity Technique, the claws could never touch him. The shortest distance was also the farthest distance.

Seeing Naruto's expression now, Sasuke furrowed his brows intensely. What on earth is wrong with this guy today? Was he really scared witless? Sasuke thought.

Just then, Kakashi looked seriously at Tazuna and said, "Mr. Tazuna, there's something I want to ask you."

Tazuna froze and looked somewhat flustered. "Wha... what is it?"

Kakashi continued, "I have some doubts about this mission. Two Chunin from Kirigakure appeared during a C-rank mission, and the assassination was aimed directly at you. That doesn't make sense. I hope you can give us a reasonable explanation."